Adobe Illustrator CS4 bible phần 2 doc

48 Illustrator Basics Part I  Grid Size: This list box (popup menu) lets you can change your grid size to small, medium, or large.  Grid Colors: You can customize your own grid colors.  Simulate Colored Paper: Selecting this check box makes the Artboard color match the grid color you’ve chosen.  Preset: Select a preset (high, medium, or low resolution) from the Preset list box (popup menu) or choose a Custom setting. FIGURE 3.4 Selecting the Show images In Outline Mode option changes placed images from their original full-detailed glory (left) to a box frame (right). Changing Type options In the Document Setup dialog box, you can also change these Type options:  Use Typographer’s Quotes: Select this option to use smart (curved) quotes rather than the dumb (straight) ones.  Language: Choose a desired language from the menu. You can choose from a variety of languages, including English, French, Finnish, but you must have the language set up on your system to be able to use that language. 06_345191-ch03.indd 4806_345191-ch03.indd 48 10/24/08 10:13:47 AM10/24/08 10:13:47 AM 49 Working with Illustrator Documents 3  Double Quotes: Choose the style from the dropdown list (popup menu). You have a variety of quotes to choose from. Some users like the curved quotes rather than the straight ones.  Single Quotes: Choose the style from the dropdown list (popup menu). The choices of single quotes are the same as the double quotes.  Superscript, Subscript, and Small Caps: Choose the Size and Position for Superscripts, Subscripts, and Small Caps as a percentage of the original size.  Export: In this list box (popup menu), choose from Preserve Text Editability and Preserve Text Appearance. In this case, you can either choose to be able to edit the text (but it may not look like you intended) or let the text look like it should (but make it so you can’t edit it). Artboards In Illustrator, the Artboard defines the maximum drawing area that you can print. The Artboard is useful as a guide to where objects on a page belong. The maximum printable size is 227 × 227 inches or 358 square feet (provided that you can find a printer to print that big). You can define any number of Artboards, each can be any size, and when it comes time to print, you can print them independently or any combination of them. Commercial printers print colored artwork using separate plates for each of the different primary colors (typically, they use four different plates). An application such as Illustrator can break down color images into the separations that are used to create these plates. Crop marks are lines that are printed as an aid to determining where to trim (or crop) the printed page when the document is printed on oversized paper. Illustrator’s separation setup ignores the Artboard and places crop marks around the entire image- able area. The imageable area is only the area where artwork exists. It may be within the Artboard, but it also may extend onto the Pasteboard. When you export an illustration to another program, such as QuarkXPress or InDesign, the Artboard is ignored entirely. Choosing the Artboard measurement units You can view a document in points, picas, inches, centimeters, millimeters, or pixels. The mea- surement units affect the numbers on the rulers and the locations of the hash marks on those same rulers. The measurement system also changes the way measurements display in the Info panel and in all dialog boxes where you type a measurement other than a percentage. You change the measurement system in one of three ways:  Using the Preferences dialog box: Use this method if you want to change all docu- ments. To do so, choose Edit (Illustrator) ➪ Preferences ➪ Units & Display Performance. 06_345191-ch03.indd 4906_345191-ch03.indd 49 10/24/08 10:13:49 AM10/24/08 10:13:49 AM 50 Illustrator Basics Part I  Press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+U (Ô+Option+Shift+U): This cycles through all the available units in your active document.  Using the Document Setup dialog box: Use this method for the currently active docu- ment. You open this dialog box by choosing File ➪ Document Setup. The Artboard tool The Artboard tool allows you to change existing Artboards and create new Artboards. The Artboard tool is in the lower half of the Tools panel, as shown in Figure 3.5. As soon as you select the Artboard tool, the screen changes, making everything outside the Artboard area darkened and putting a big dashed line around the Artboard. The Control panel also changes, displaying the options shown in Figure 3.6. FIGURE 3.5 The Artboard tool is found in the lower section of the Tools panel. FIGURE 3.6 Choosing the Artboard tool results in a different set of options in the Control panel. 06_345191-ch03.indd 5006_345191-ch03.indd 50 10/24/08 10:13:49 AM10/24/08 10:13:49 AM 51 Working with Illustrator Documents 3 From this view of the Control panel, you can quickly change to preset page sizes (left side) and type specific dimensions for your existing Artboard. You can also quickly add a new Artboard by clicking the New Artboard button. But what’s great about this tool is that you can now modify an existing Artboard or create new ones with the tool. Just click and drag outside of the existing Artboard to create a new Artboard. Click once on any existing Artboard to select it and then grab one of its handles to modify it. Changing the Artboard size using the Control panel Choose the size of the Artboard by selecting one of the following preset sizes in the Size dropdown list (popup menu) on the left edge of the Control panel, as shown in Figure 3.7: FIGURE 3.7 The crazy number of options in the Size list 06_345191-ch03.indd 5106_345191-ch03.indd 51 10/24/08 10:13:53 AM10/24/08 10:13:53 AM 52 Illustrator Basics Part I  Custom: Any size you type into the Width and Height fields of the Document Setup dia- log box automatically changes the Size dropdown (popup) to Custom.  Fit Artboard to Artwork bounds: Choosing this option instantly changes the size of the Artboard to the size of all the artwork in your document.  Fit Artboard to selected art: Choosing this option instantly changes the size of the Artboard to the size of all the artwork you currently have selected.  Letter: 8.5 × 11 inches  Legal: 8.5 × 14 inches  Tabloid: 11 × 17 inches  A4: 8.268 × 11.693 inches (21 × 29.7 centimeters)  A3: 11.693 × 16.535 inches (29.7 × 42 centimeters)  B5: 7.165 × 10 inches (18.2 × 25.4 centimeters)  B4: 10.118 × 14.331 inches (55.7 × 36.4 centimeters) NOTE NOTE A4, A3, B5, and B4 are paper sizes used outside the United States.  NTSC and so on: The options in this section change the Artboard to the size (in pixels) of these video-centric choices.  176 × 208 and so on: Makes your Artboard 176 × 208 pixels or the dimension you choose in this section  VGA and so on: Makes your Artboard the appropriate screen size Setting the Artboard orientation using the Control panel You define the orientation of your Artboard by choosing one of the two Orientation pages. On the left is Portrait orientation, and on the right is Landscape orientation:  Portrait orientation: You use this when the document is taller than it is wide. You can also think of portrait orientation as the vertical view.  Landscape orientation: You use this when the document is wider than it is tall. You can also think of landscape orientation as the horizontal view. The Artboard Options dialog box Clicking the Artboard Options button displays the Artboard Options dialog box, as shown in Figure 3.8. This dialog box is really useful if you don’t have the Control panel displayed, but I’m sure you do, so the Artboard Options dialog box becomes much, much less useful. In fact, the only thing you can change here that you can’t change in the Control panel is the Fade option (in the oddly named Global section). If you have a pre-Intel processor Mac, you might want to deselect this option with complex documents, but otherwise, you can safely ignore these options. 06_345191-ch03.indd 5206_345191-ch03.indd 52 10/24/08 10:13:54 AM10/24/08 10:13:54 AM 53 Working with Illustrator Documents 3 FIGURE 3.8 The Artboard Options dialog box Opening and Closing Illustrator Files You can open many types of files in Illustrator. To open a file, choose File ➪ Open or press Ctrl+O (Ô+O) to display the Open dialog box. Find the file you want to open, and double-click it to open it into a document window on the screen. To close the active Illustrator file, choose File ➪ Close or press Ctrl+W (Ô+W). The active docu- ment is the one that’s in front of all other documents. Closing an Illustrator document doesn’t close Illustrator; it continues running until you choose File ➪ Exit (Illustrator ➪ Quit Illustrator). If you saved the file prior to closing it, the file just disappears. If you’ve modified the file since the last time you saved it, a message box appears asking whether you want to save changes before clos- ing. If you’ve not saved the file at all, the Save As dialog box opens so that you can name the file 06_345191-ch03.indd 5306_345191-ch03.indd 53 10/24/08 10:13:55 AM10/24/08 10:13:55 AM 54 Illustrator Basics Part I and choose a location for it. If you click Don’t Save (or press D while the message box is showing), then any changes that you made to the document since you last saved it (or if you’ve never saved it, all the changes you made since you created it) are lost. Clicking Cancel or pressing Esc takes you back to the drawing, where you can continue to work on it. Saving Files Saving and backing up Illustrator documents are some of the most important Illustrator tasks you can perform. To save a file, choose File ➪ Save or press Ctrl+S (Ô+S). If you’ve previously saved the file, updat- ing the existing file with the changes that you’ve made takes just a fraction of a second. If you’ve not yet saved the file, the Save As dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 3.9 opens. Illustrator files are best saved as AI files (with the .ai extension) because this is the native Illustrator format, which preserves all Illustrator-specific information. When saving files, remember these tips and tricks:  Decide where to save the file: Ensure that the name of the folder where you want to save the file is displayed above the file list window. Saving your working files in a loca- tion other than the Illustrator folder is a good habit. Otherwise, you can have trouble fig- uring out which files are yours, which files are tutorial files, etc.  Name the file something distinctive: If you look for a file six months from now, you may not recognize it. Avoid using Untitled-1, Untitled-2, etc. Such names are nonde- scriptive, and you can too easily replace the file at a later date with a file of the same name. For the same reasons, don’t use Document 1, Document 2, etc. Here are your formatting choices for saving an Illustrator file:  Adobe Illustrator Document: For use when passing between users who have Adobe Illustrator.  Illustrator EPS (eps): For use when sending or passing files between users who may not have Illustrator but can place or open the files in another program, such as InDesign or Photoshop.  Illustrator Template (ait): For use in creating templates that you can use as guides for future drawings  Adobe PDF (pdf): For use in sending the file to anyone who has or can download Adobe Reader or Acrobat Standard or Professional  SVG Compressed (svgz): For use when creating a Web page. This option generally pro- duces smaller files than the uncompressed SVG format. 06_345191-ch03.indd 5406_345191-ch03.indd 54 10/24/08 10:14:00 AM10/24/08 10:14:00 AM 55 Working with Illustrator Documents 3  SVG (svg): For use when creating a Web page. SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphics and is an XML-based format that can produce much smaller file sizes than the typical bit- map formats, such as JPEG and TIF. FIGURE 3.9 The Save As dialog box allows you to save your document in several different formats. 06_345191-ch03.indd 5506_345191-ch03.indd 55 10/24/08 10:14:01 AM10/24/08 10:14:01 AM 56 Illustrator Basics Part I Using the Save As command You activate the Save As command by choosing File ➪ Save As or by pressing Shift+Ctrl+S (Ô+Shift+S). By using this command, you can save multiple versions of the document at different stages of progress. If you choose Save As and don’t rename the file or change the save location, Illustrator prompts you to replace the existing file. If you choose Replace, Illustrator erases the file that you saved before and replaces it with the new file that you’re saving. Understanding the Save a Copy command The Save a Copy command that you activate by choosing File ➪ Save a Copy or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+S (Ô+Option+S) saves a copy of your document at its current state (with copy appended to the filename) without affecting your document or its name. The next time you press Ctrl+S (Ô+S), Illustrator saves your changes to the original and the copy isn’t affected by any of your changes. Reverting to the last saved version Choosing File ➪ Revert is an option that automatically closes the document and opens the last saved version of it. This option is grayed out if you’ve not yet saved the file. When you select it, When Should I Save? Y ou really can’t save too often. Whenever I put off saving for just a few minutes, that’s when the application aborts or unexpectedly quits. Depending on your work habits, you may need to save more frequently than other people do. Here are some golden rules about when to save:  Save as soon as you create a new file. Get it out of the way. The toughest part of saving is deciding how and where you’re going to save the file and naming it. If you get those things out of the way in the beginning, pressing Ctrl+S (Ô+S) later is fairly painless.  Save before you print. It’s just a good idea in case your program quits when you print.  Save before you switch to another application. This is another good idea in case you for- get that you still have the application running or another application forces you to restart, such as when you’re loading new programs.  Save right after you do something that you never want to have to do again. For example, you want to save after getting the kerning just right on a logo or matching all the colors in your gradients so that they meet seamlessly.  Save after you use an Effect command that takes more than a few seconds to complete.  Save before you create a new document or go to another document.  Save at least every 15 minutes. This is just a good, basic rule; that way, you’re sure to have the latest version in case of a power outage that can shut your system down immediately. 06_345191-ch03.indd 5606_345191-ch03.indd 56 10/24/08 10:14:02 AM10/24/08 10:14:02 AM 57 Working with Illustrator Documents 3 a dialog box appears asking you to confirm that you actually do want to revert to the last saved version of the document. CAUTION CAUTION You can’t undo a Revert action, and you can’t redo anything you’ve done up to that point with the document. Saving for Web & Devices option Saving an Illustrator file for the Web is an easy step that ensures Illustrator properly saves your file for Web usage. This option allows you to choose various settings, such as the amount of compres- sion that’s applied to your document in order to reduce the file size so that your Web pages load faster. Choose File ➪ Save for Web & Devices or press Alt+Shift+Ctrl+S (Ô+Shift+Option+S) to access the Save for Web & Devices dialog box, as shown in Figure 3.10. FIGURE 3.10 The Save for Web & Devices dialog box allows you to save your document in a format suited for use on the Web. 06_345191-ch03.indd 5706_345191-ch03.indd 57 10/24/08 10:14:04 AM10/24/08 10:14:04 AM [...]... Working with Illustrator Documents Illustrator CS3: Saves the file with all Illustrator CS3-compatible features intact Illustrator CS2: Saves the file with all Illustrator CS2-compatible features intact Illustrator CS: Saves the file with all Illustrator CS-compatible features intact Illustrator 10: Saves the file with transparency, color profiles, and embedded fonts Illustrator 9: Saves the file with... notice 72 Working with Illustrator Documents Summary Understanding Illustrator s documents is one of the basic yet most important areas of Illustrator The main thing to keep in mind is to save and save often This chapter covered the following topics: Choose File ➪ New to set up a new document with Artboard dimensions and units You can change the document setup at any time by accessing the Document... document as an older version of Illustrator may alter the document if the older version is missing features you used in your document As a rule, unless you’re going to take your Illustrator document into another program, you can save it as an Adobe Illustrator (.ai) file without any problems This keeps the file size down and makes saving and opening the file much quicker Using Illustrator s compatibility... option is to save the document information as its own file Document Info and File Info are two different things Document Info is a panel found under the Window menu File Info is found under the File menu, and you can make additions to the information 70 Working with Illustrator Documents FIGURE 3.16 The Document Info panel shows a variety of details about the active document Looking at document information... major version, but Illustrator is novel in that you can open an Illustrator 1.1 file in the CS4 version of the software, even though many years have passed between those product versions If necessary, you can also export an Illustrator document to certain older Illustrator formats using the Illustrator Options dialog box To open this dialog box, select File ➪ Save As and then choose Illustrator from... you export an Illustrator document as an SWF file 65 3 Part I Illustrator Basics FIGURE 3.14 The SWF Options dialog box allows you to specify options for saving in the Flash format Placing Art It’s not necessary to create your entire Illustrator document from scratch if you already have some existing artwork that you want to use You can use most types of image files in an Illustrator document, including... other program To place Illustrator art into Photoshop, save the art in Illustrator format and then open the art in Photoshop To place Photoshop art into Illustrator, save in Photoshop as a format that Illustrator can read, such as TIFF, and then in Illustrator, choose File ➪ Place and select the file 69 3 Part I Illustrator Basics Using the Clipboard The next way is through Adobe s wonderful PostScript... allows for transferring artwork between Adobe software programs by simply copying in one program and pasting in another To place Illustrator art in Photoshop, copy the art in Illustrator, switch to Photoshop, and paste the art into any open document To place Photoshop art in Illustrator, copy the art in Photoshop, switch to Illustrator, and paste the art into an open document This process works best for... profiles Illustrator 8: Saves the file in a cross-platform (Mac and Windows) Illustrator 8 format Illustrator 8 added support for EMF file format and drag-and-drop to Microsoft Office products (Windows), Japanese format FreeHand files, and DXF file formats Illustrator 3: Saves the file in the Illustrator 3 format In fact, you can use the Illustrator 3 format for lots of cheating — doing things that Illustrator. .. These options are covered in depth in Chapter 19 CROSS-REF 64 Working with Illustrator Documents Using the Export Command Adobe Illustrator allows you to export to several file formats Most of the export formats are bitmap formats, such as TIFF and JPEG You can also export in PDF so that you can read Illustrator documents with Adobe Reader When you choose the Export option, these formats are available: . 19. 06_345191-ch03.indd 6406_345191-ch03.indd 64 10 /24 /08 10:14 :22 AM10 /24 /08 10:14 :22 AM 65 Working with Illustrator Documents 3 Using the Export Command Adobe Illustrator allows you to export to several file. 58 10 /24 /08 10:14:11 AM10 /24 /08 10:14:11 AM 59 Working with Illustrator Documents 3  Illustrator CS3: Saves the file with all Illustrator CS3-compatible features intact  Illustrator CS2: Saves. your formatting choices for saving an Illustrator file:  Adobe Illustrator Document: For use when passing between users who have Adobe Illustrator.  Illustrator EPS (eps): For use when sending